Betsy Kaplan Honored

By John Dorschner Betsy Kaplan, who worked tirelessly for decades to improve Miami-Dade public schools, was honored at Wednesday's school board meeting with a special proclamation -- and a recommendation from the superintendent that one of the district's arts programs be named after her.

Betsy during her school board years

Kaplan served on the school board from 1988 to 2004, including a term as board chair, but for years before that she was active in the PTA and other school causes. The proclamation was proposed by board member Martin Karp. She was particularly well known as a champion of arts programs in the schools -- and fought fiercely to maintain them even during periods of budget cuts and pressure to focus on "core programs." Because of that, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho recommended naming an arts program after her. A video of the presentation is available HERE. Note: In the past several years, Betsy has become a friend, and we are members of the same poetry group.